COVID-19 is causing unprecedented disruptions for schools and students. Ecree responds by giving away its writing support technology for FREE.
The COVID-19 crisis is mushrooming across campuses and school districts. Contingency plans are being developed and implemented on a tight timeline and a growing number of students won’t be able to see their teachers face-to-face for weeks or months.
Our decision might be nuts. And that’s ok.
Amidst this acute disruption, there’s a common factor for students: the need for help from their teachers. When we take away the teachers, what can we do? That is the question we asked ourselves at Ecree. Our answer: give away our product for free for several months. To everyone. This isn’t necessarily a good idea for a small ed tech company. You could even call it foolish. But there’s no doubt it was the right decision.
Let me share a relevant story from my time in the classroom.
Once upon a time I tried a different approach.
I taught my first English Composition course in 2002. I was a Master’s student in Princeton and word went around that the local community college needed someone to start teaching in two days. I thought, “if I’m going to teach, now’s as good a time as any to get practical experience.” That first term helped me build a foundation for effective teaching and, at the same time, showed me how hard teaching can be.
When I assigned students their first paper, I had the idea to offer to read a draft before students turned in the paper officially. I asked my supervisor if he thought this was a good idea.
He told me it was a terrible idea and I’d be foolish to do it.
The reason, he explained, had to do with acute demand. Of course students would take the extra help. The issue was that if I read one draft ahead of time, I’d be obligated to read every draft that came my way. And, as he reminded me, most students don’t start working until just before the paper is due. He predicted I’d get no sleep the night before the paper was due because I’d be grading drafts.
He was exactly right. It was an awful night.
Student stress is amplified by COVID-19.
This memory came to mind as my Ecree colleagues and I discussed opening our writing assistant software to all students for free. There are a number reasons not to offer free access to our technology. I can hear my first supervisor saying “Don’t do it!” and I remember thinking that I should have taken that advice. But the decision in our present-day situation made it easy to say “We have to do it!”.
Spring is a busy time for students. There are a lot of high-stakes tests on the horizon. Midterms are coming up. For many students, the entire year has been spent preparing for these tasks, many of which will require a writing exercise.
That’s stressful, but there’s more. In some cases, the results of these exams and papers will have lasting effects into the future. Getting a good AP score can mean thousands of dollars saved through course credits. A bad grade can make the difference between acceptance to and rejection from a first choice college.
Having to prepare for these events while being out of school for an extended amount of time will only make the Spring that much harder for students. Students need help and teachers won’t be able to give it.
Remote learning software is the answer.
As I was thinking about how Ecree could help, I went back to my old grade book from that first course. At the bottom of the page were summary stats on student improvement. As I flipped through the pages and looked at other courses, I saw that my first course, the one when I foolishly offered to read everyone’s draft ahead of time, showed the greatest improvement in student scores. In 15 years of teaching, offering extra help made the biggest difference, and that extra help is exactly what Ecree does.
Ecree’s algorithms provide teacher-quality feedback in real-time as students write. The simple and consistent colored-coded help guides writers from introduction to conclusion and allows for unlimited revisions. When a student gets instant input on his or her thesis, topic sentence, evidence, organization, and analysis the result is a better grade and a better paper.
So, armed with the lesson of my ancient grade book, the Ecree team decided we could (and should) help — but only if that help was open to everyone. Learning doesn’t stop. Students need help right now and we are committed to providing that help with our writing assistant software.
Spread the word, tell a student!
If you know a student who could use online writing software, or if your local school is struggling to set up distance learning for students, or if you are a teacher who wants to lead your students through an unprecedented disruption, please share this link with them. We’re ready to help.
Help us, help all students — share this article and sign-up at Ecree.com!
